Vivienne Westwood shaves her head in protest against climate change

At a demonstration in her local borough of Clapham, the 72-year-old showed off her newly shaven haircut, with just a few grey hairs on show. The former redhead took part in the campaign to oppose the sale of long standing housing co-operatives, and was also joined by comedian Mark Thomas and artist Maggi Hambling.

While the legendary designer actually revealed her shaved head at her Paris Fashion Week show, she was wearing a headdress (second picture) so it was somewhat disguised.

A spokesperson for her fashion label said: "Vivienne cut her hair as we must all wake up to climate change. And secondly she wanted to cut the red out for a while and have it white- to show she's proud of her age."

Westwood has been a staunch supporter of raising awareness about climate change for many years, including her recent photo project to help promote Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign.

Photographer Andy Gotts snapped a host of stars including Jerry Hall, George Clooney and Chris Martin, all wearing slogan T-shirts designed by Westwood.

Last month, she also told The Observer that she was transforming the way in which her company works. She said: "I am now trying to make my own business more efficient and self-sustaining. This also means trying to make everybody who works in it happy, if I can."